· Skill focus: respectful disagreement, perspective-taking, communication
· Time: 10 minutes
· Materials: “Would you rather” cards or simple debate prompts (e.g., “Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?”)
Setup:
- Prepare a stack of fun “Would you rather” questions or silly debate topics that kids will enjoy discussing.
- Teach the group sentence stems to use during the activity:“I see it differently…”“One reason is…”“We can still be friends.”
How to Play:
- Pair students or place them in small groups.
- Read a “Would you rather” question aloud and have each person share their choice.
- Encourage students to listen and respond using the sentence stems. Example:Child A: “I’d pick a dragon.”Child B: “I see it differently. One reason is unicorns are magical. We can still be friends.”
- After each round, rotate pairs or read a new card so children practice with different classmates and topics.
Variations:
- Whole-Class Circle: Discuss questions as a group, taking turns to disagree respectfully.
- Silent Round: Children write their responses using the stems before sharing aloud.
- Challenge Mode: Children must give at least two reasons for their choice before ending with “We can still be friends.”
Discussion / Reflection:
- How did it feel to disagree politely?
- Why is it important to respect other people’s opinions?
- Did you learn something new about your classmates’ perspectives?
- How can you use “We can still be friends” in real-life situations?